INDIANAPOLIS
Shorthanded Greenwood Christian trailed nearly the entire way and saw its season end to Providence Cristo Rey 66-59 in the opening round of the Class A Indianapolis Lutheran Sectional on Wednesday.
The Cougars played the game without senior Kegan Owen, who was out for unspecified reasons. Without the high-scoring Owen on the floor, Greenwood Christian had a hard time keeping up with an energized Cristo Rey squad.
“They hit shots and we missed a lot of shots,” Greenwood Christian coach Jonny Marlin said. “I thought how hard we played was dictated by whether we hit shots or not.”
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe second quarter proved to be the pivotal frame in the game. Providence Cristo Rey, which led 12-9 after one, caught fire in the second and knocked down five 3-pointers while building a 31-17 lead at the half.
Greenwood Christian spent the rest of the game trying to dig out of that hole and never did. The Cougars lopped five points off of the lead after three quarters and made a spirited run in the fourth, getting close enough to make the Wolves sweat.
Two free throws by Payton Modlin with 1:04 left in the game closed the gap to six, and Greenwood Christian spent the next minute sending Cristo Rey to the line. That strategy of extending the game worked for a time and the Cougars got to within five (64-59) on a Quentin Steele bucket with 17 seconds to go.
Greenwood Christian then stole Cristo Rey’s inbound pass but then promptly turned it back over trying to get the ball to the basket. The sequence burned 10 seconds off the clock and killed Greenwood Christian’s chances at the comeback. Naziah Stamps then hit two free throws for Cristo Rey to ice the win.
“I felt like we didn’t finish around the rim. They have great length,” Marlin said. “But at the same time I felt like we went up kind of soft. That was disappointing.”
The Cougars shot themselves in the foot all night. Along with committing 22 turnovers, they also went just 5 of 12 from the free-throw line, including 1 of 8 in the first half. Cristo Rey, meanwhile, was 12 of 16 on free shots.
And then there was the absence of Owen. Marlin said only that his senior was “unavailable” for the game and declined to get into specifics.
“Kegan has been unbelievable for us all year. He’s been an awesome leader and an awesome teammate,” Marlin said. “It was tough. We missed him. At the same time, we had guys out there playing and I thought we could have won.”
Steele scored 17 points to lead Greenwood Christian, while Modlin added 12 and Andrew Anderson had 11 off the bench.
Elkin Ramirez scored 16 points, T.J. Thomas had 14 and Anthony Williams scored 13 for Cristo Rey (11-11).
Greenwood Christian ends the season with a 13-10 record and returns the core of its team. But Marlin wanted a better ending for his two seniors, Owen and Cayden Bauschek.
“Right now I just feel for Kegan and Cayden. They gave a lot to the program. They were awesome teammates this year,” Marlin said.
